Going online? Does transferring to online university increase the likelihood of graduation among students from lower social background?

  1. Albert Sánchez-Gelabert 1
  2. Marina Elias 1
  1. 1 Universitat de Barcelona
    info

    Universitat de Barcelona

    Barcelona, España

    ROR https://ror.org/021018s57

Revue:
International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education

ISSN: 2365-9440

Année de publication: 2023

Número: 20

Type: Article

DOI: 10.1186/S41239-023-00407-4 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAccès ouvert editor

D'autres publications dans: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education

Objectifs de Développement Durable

Résumé

The increase in university participation has led to greater complexity in terms of students’ trajectories, with the option of changing degree course or higher education institution or, more recently, the mode of study (face-to-face and online learning). These transitions can be strategic moves that facilitate greater continuity in educa‑ tional trajectories and increase equity within the education system. Online universities ofer greater fexibility in terms of time and location, providing new opportunities for students with specifc profles to pursue higher education. This article aims to delve into the complex trajectories of change and to analyse whether there are diferences in educational outcomes based on students’ social backgrounds. Using registry data from the Catalan university system (n=42,370), we identify and characterise the trajectories of change and analyse the efect of the interaction between them and social origin on educational outcomes. The results indicate that students from lower social back‑ grounds and those who also work are most likely to transition to virtual education. However, social background continues to have an efect on the probability of graduat‑ ing, dropping out or pursuing further studies.

€ Voir financement

Information sur le financement

Financeurs

Références bibliographiques

  • Adelman, C. (1999). Answers in the tool box: Academic intensity, attendance patterns, and bachelor’s degree attainment.Washington, DC.
  • Andrews, R., Li, J., & Lovenheim, M. F. (2014). Heterogeneous paths through college: Detailed patterns and relationships with graduation and earnings. Economics of Education Review, 42, 93–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2014.07.002
  • Bawa, P. (2016). Retention in online courses: Exploring issues and solutions—A literature review. SAGE Open, 6(1), 215824401562177. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015621777
  • Bernardi, F., & Triventi, M. (2020). Compensatory advantage in educational transitions: Trivial or substantial? a simulated scenario analysis. Acta Sociologica (United Kingdom), 63(1), 40–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699318780950
  • Boylan, R. L. (2020). Predicting postsecondary pathways: The efect of social background and academic factors on routes through school. Socius, 6, 237802311989517. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023119895174
  • Breen, R., & Goldthorpe, J. H. (1997). Explaining educational diferentials: Towards a formal rational action theory. Rationality and Society, 9(3), 275–305. https://doi.org/10.1177/104346397009003002
  • Clasemann, C., & Boon, R. D. (2019). Seeking patterns in swirl and drift: Retention, persistence, and transfer. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2019(184), 21–32. https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.20319
  • Corominas, E. (2001). La transición de los estudios universitarios: Abandono o cambio en el primer año de Universidad. Revista De Investigación Educativa, RIE, 19(1), 127–151. https://doi.org/10.6018/rie.19.1.96361
  • Crisp, G., & Nuñez, A. M. (2014). Understanding the racial transfer gap: Modeling underrepresented minority and nonminority students’ pathways from two-to four-year institutions. Review of Higher Education, 37(3), 291–320. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2014.0017
  • Crisp, G., Potter, C., & Taggart, A. (2022). Characteristics and predictors of transfer and withdrawal among students who begin college at bachelor’s granting institutions. Research in Higher Education, 63(3), 481–513. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-021-09657-5
  • Deil-Amen, R., & Goldrick-Rab, S. (2009). Institutional transfer and the management of risk in higher education. In American Sociological Association 2009 Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA: WISCAPE.
  • Denice, P. (2019). Trajectories through postsecondary education and students’ life course transitions. Social Science Research, 80, 243–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2019.02.005
  • Goldrick-Rab, S. (2006). Following their every move: An investigation of social-class diferences in college pathways. Sociology of Education, 79(1), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/003804070607900104
  • Goldrick-Rab, S., & Pfefer, F. T. (2009). Beyond access: Explaining socioeconomic diferences in college transfer. Sociology of Education, 82(2), 101–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/003804070908200201
  • Haas, C. (2022). Applying sequence analysis in higher education research: A life course perspective on study trajectories. In J. Huisman & M. Tight (Eds.), Theory and method in higher education research (Vol. 8, pp. 127–147). Emerald Publish‑ing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/s2056-375220220000008007
  • Haas, C., & Hadjar, A. (2020). Students’ trajectories through higher education: A review of quantitative research. Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00458-5
  • Jury, M., Smeding, A., Stephens, N. M., Nelson, J. E., Aelenei, C., & Darnon, C. (2017). The experience of low-SES students in higher education: Psychological barriers to success and interventions to reduce social-class inequality. Journal of Social Issues, 73(1), 23–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12202
  • Kahu, E. R., Stephens, C., Zepke, N., & Leach, L. (2014). Space and time to engage: Mature-aged distance students learn to ft study into their lives. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 33(4), 523–540. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2014.884177
  • Kalogrides, D., & Grodsky, E. (2011). Something to fall back on: Community colleges as a safety net. Social Forces, 89(3), 853–877. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2011.0019
  • Kara, M., Erdoğdu, F., Kokoç, M., & Cagiltay, K. (2019). Challenges faced by adult learners in online distance education: A literature review. Open Praxis, 11(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.11.1.929
  • Langa, D. (2018). La apuesta universitaria en los jóvenes de clases populares. Entre la promoción social y la falta de horizonte. Revista Espanola De Sociologia, 27(1), 135–143. https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2018.9
  • Langa, D. (2020). El precio de estudiar en la universidad española para los jóvenes de clases populares Impacto de la reforma de las tasas universitarias de 2012 a través de los discursos de los estudiantes. Revista Mexicana De Investigacion Educativa, 25(86), 603–625.
  • Lassibille, G., Navarro Gómez, M.L. (2009). Tracking students’ progress through the Spanish university school sector. Higher Education, 58, 821–839. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-009-9227-8.
  • Lee, J. (2021). Should i stay or leave?: Exploring the relationship between reverse transfer and degree attainment. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 46(11), 825–840. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2021.1910593
  • Lee, Y., & Choi, J. (2011). A review of online course dropout research: Implications for practice and future research. Educational Technology Research and Development, 59(5), 593–618. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-010-9177-y.
  • Li, I. W., & Dockery, A. M. (2015). Does school socio-economic status infuence university outcomes ? Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 18(1), 75–94. https://doi.org/10.3316/INFORMIT.415575288387366
  • Mangan, J., Hughes, A., Davies, P., & Slack, K. (2010). Fair access, achievement and geography: Explaining the association between social class and students’ choice of university. Studies in Higher Education, 35(3), 335–350. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903131610
  • Markova, T., Glazkova, I., & Zaborova, E. (2017). Quality issues of online distance learning. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 237(June 2016), 685–691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2017.02.043
  • McCormick, A. C. (2003). Swirling and double-dipping: New patterns of student attendance and their implications for higher education. New Directions for Higher Education, 2003(121), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.98
  • Mills, C., Heyworth, J., Rosenwax, L., Carr, S., & Rosenberg, M. (2009). Factors associated with the academic success of frst year Health Science students. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 14(2), 205–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-008-9103-9
  • Mize, T. D. (2019). Best practices for estimating, interpreting, and presenting nonlinear interaction efects. Sociological Science, 6, 81–117. https://doi.org/10.15195/V6.A4
  • Oliphant, T., & Branch-Mueller, J. (2018). “Doing the courses without stopping my life:” Time in a professional master’s program. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 19(4), 191–207. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v19i4.3237
  • Raddon, A. (2007). Timescapes of fexibility and insecurity: Exploring the context of distance learners. Time & Society, 16(1), 61–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X07074102
  • Reay, D., Crozier, G., & Clayton, J. (2010). “Fitting in” or “standing out”: Workingclass students in UK higher education. British Educational Research Journal, 36(1), 107–124. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920902878925
  • Robinson, R. A., & Bornholt, L. J. (2007). Pathways theory of progression through higher education. Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology, 7, 49–62.
  • Rubin, M., Evans, O., & McGufog, R. (2019). Social class diferences in social integration at university: Implications for academic outcomes and mental health. In J. Jetten & K. Peters (Eds.), The social psychology of inequality (pp. 87–102). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28856-3_6
  • Sánchez-Gelabert, A. (2020). Non-traditional students, university trajectories, and higher education institutions: A comparative analysis of face-to-face and online universities. Studia Paedagogica, 25(4), 51–72. https://doi.org/10.5817/SP2020-4-3.
  • Sánchez-Gelabert, A., Valente, R., & Duart, J. M. (2020). Profles of online students and the impact of their university experience. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 21(3). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v21i34784.
  • Simpson, O. (2013). Student retention in distance education: are we failing our students? Open Learning, 28(2), 105–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2013.847363.
  • Soler Julve, I. (2013). Los estudiantes universitarios. Perfles y modalidades de vinculación con el estudio en la universidad española. Universitat de València.
  • Spencer, G., & Stich, A. (2023). College choice revisited: Socioeconomic diferences in college transfer destinations among four-year college entrants: George Spencer. Research in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-023-09730-1
  • Taylor, J. L., & Jain, D. (2017). The multiple dimensions of transfer: Examining the transfer function in American higher education. Community College Review (Vol. 45, pp. 273–293). SAGE PublicationsSage CA. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552117725177
  • Tomul, E., & Polat, G. (2013). The efects of socioeconomic characteristics of students on their academic achievement in higher education. American Journal of Educational Research, 1(10), 449–455. https://doi.org/10.12691/education-1-10-7
  • Troiano, H., & Torrents, D. (2018). La evolución del acceso a la universidad en Cataluña: ¿Cómo la explicamos? Revista Española De Sociología. https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2018.8
  • Troiano, H., Torrents, D., & Daza, L. (2021). Compensation for poor performance through social background in tertiary education choices. Studies in Higher Education, 46(6), 1225–1240. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1666262
  • Villar Aguilés, A., & Hernàndez i Dobon, F. J. (2010). Reubicaciones. Abandono parcial o cambios de titulación en los estudios universitarios. Inguruak Revista Vasca de Sociología y Ciencia Política, Monográfc.
  • Villar Aguilés, A., Manuel Vieira, M., Hernàndez i Dobon, F. J., & Nunes de Almeida, A. (2012). Más que abandono de estudios, trayectorias de reubicación universitaria. Revista Lusófona De Educação, 21, 139–162.
  • Vonderwell, S. (2003). An examination of asynchronous communication experiences and perspectives of students in an online course: A case study. Internet and Higher Education, 6(1), 77–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1096-7516(02)00164-1
  • Waterhouse, P., Samra, R., & Lucassen, M. (2020). Mental distress and its relationship to distance education students’ work and family roles. Distance Education, 41(4), 540–558. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2020.1821606
  • Wladis, C., Hachey, A. C., & Conway, K. (2022). Time poverty: A hidden factor connecting online enrollment and college outcomes? Journal of Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2022.2138385.
  • Xavier, M., & Meneses, J. (2018). The time factor in studies on dropout in online higher education: Initial review of the literature and future approaches. in J. M. Duart, & A. Szucs (Eds.), Proceedings of the 10th EDEN Research Workshop: Towards Personalized Guidance and Support for Learning. Budapest, pp. 357–363.
  • Xavier, M., & Meneses, J. (2020). Dropout in online higher education: A scoping review of the literature from 2014 to 2018.Barcelona: eLearn Center, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. https://doi.org/10.7238/uoc.dropout.factors.2020
  • Xavier, M., Meneses, J., & Fiuza, P. J. (2022). Dropout, stopout, and time challenges in open online higher education: A qualitative study of the frst-year student experience. Open Learning. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2022.2160236
La source de données: Dialnet